Pawprints In The Sand
by K J Rowling
Summary: Sirius Black, Animagi and proud Marauder, is considering making his Animagi form permenant. With a lot of convincing from his best friends, will he stay a human, or will he be stuck as a dog for the rest of his life...?


**Pawprints in The Sand**

_Chapter I_

* * *

Not unusually, Hogwarts was grey and gloomy, the students moping around as if they would like nothing more than to be dropped off the end of the earth.... except from 4 students, who were all working hard on the Hogwarts year book. These four students were special, apart from the fact they had served more detentions than Einstien had had an idea for a new invention. These four students were the Marauders, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers. James Potter was meduim height for his age, with black hair and glasses that sat perfectly on his nose. Sirius was tall, with black hair like his best friend, James, and had looks that could kill. Remus had blond hair and was, like James, of medium height. Peter Pettigrew was short, with almost straw coloured hair.   
  
The four best friends were serving detention together, this time it was to create the year book for the seventh years, them. They were all seventeen and of course, not looking forward to their N.E.W.T's. N.E.W.Ts were Nastily Exhasting Wizarding Tests, and, as the name suggested, they were a terrible strain on students. The four were having fun with the labels now, Sirius had one stuck across his forehead that read Padfoot backwards and James had one that shone different luminous colours stuck to his cheek. Remus was checking the year book, as Peter watched the label fight continue in awe.   
  
"Take that Padfoot!" James laughed manically sticking a label with 'git' written on it on his friend's arm. Sirius looked annoyed and drew his wand, with a flick of it he sent a spell at James, who ducked and it hit Peter's quill. It immediately jumped up, sprouted legs and done a jig to the end of the table, Peter following it with his hand, trying to grab it before it fell off the end of the table. Sirius and James chuckled as Peter's smile fell.  
  
"Here you go, Worm, don't look so down." Sirius laughed, giving his friend another quill, which was gold and blue in colour.  
  
"I can't help it, I don't really want to be doing a stupid Yearbook anyway." He replied, taking the quill thankfully.  
  
"Why not? This way we can make a few.... tweaks of our own." James smiled, looking down at the picture of Severus Snape. Remus looked up at his friend as he looked over his shoulder.  
  
"James." He said, warningly, "no 'tweaks' or we'll be in more trouble than we already are." James sneered a little.  
  
"Just a mustache and maybe a beard and just a few pink streaks in the hair...." James drew his wand and with a wave of it, Severus' picture had '100% pure grease' written across it. Remus slammed the yearbook shut.   
  
"James!" she said, angerily, even though he had a small smile playing on his face, he looked quite angry at his friend's defiance.  
  
"Sometimes, Moony, you can be such a spoilsport." James said, slightly miffed.  
  
"This book is for the whole of the year, not just your amusement James, and for your infomation I am not a spoilsport, I am just saying this one thing you cannot, but have, messed up." Remus replied, putting his quill down. James and Sirius exchanged looks, Remus and spoilsport? Sounded about right. Sirius was trying to hide his laughter in a Gryffindor Banner, but he was not suceeding. Remus looked behind him and gave him a glare. "May I remind you I done this all and you two done nothing but... play with labels!" He said, pulling the label that said 'git' off Sirius' arm fast, so he yelped in pain.  
  
"That hurt, Moony." Sirius said, rubbing his arm where the label had been before Remus had removed it rather painfully.  
  
"I'm sorry, it was purely intentional, I asure you." Remus replied, with a grin. He got up from his, seat crossed the room and took a new bottle of ink as the door creaked open, it was Lily Evans, the head girl, who James was head over heels for. She had brilliant green eyes, beautiful red hair and she was around Remus' height.  
  
"Professor McGonagall sent me to make sure you were actually doing something instead of-" she glanced at the labels stuck randomly around the room, and on the two boys, and the quill doing a jig on the floor, "-messing around. James," she began, James knew he was in for it, "James, stop messing about, have you got the Yearbook done yet?" She asked, rather miserably. Remus reached for the book as Lily opened it, it fell open on the picture of Snape and she gasped. "Remus, I would of expected more from some one like you, you're Headboy, and you let them two do anything they want."  
  
"I tried to stop them," Remus muttered, almost looking guilty.  
  
"Didn't do a very good job did you?" she then turned on the two boys, who were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, Sirius considerably taller than James, she just sighed, flew her arms up like she was trying to take off and growled, "Is this the way you want to spend the rest of your life, being punished and doing nothing?"  
  
"Being punished for doing nothing, more like." James cut in, before Lily could get full throttle with her speech.  
  
"You almost blew up the Gryffindor Common Room with that stunt, personally, I don't think having to create the Yearbook is punishment enough!" Her red hair bounced on her shoulders, her face was slightly red from telling the group off. James and Sirius were actually looking a little guilty, the only noise in the room was Peter's every-now-and-again coughs and the sound of a quill doing a jig on the cold floor. Sirius tried to break the uncomfortable silence by moving to sit on the table, but no one said anything.   
  
"So, Evans, erm, you going to the Hallowe'en ball?" James asked, sensing Sirius' failed attempt to break the silence.  
  
"I don't know yet," she said, trying to keep her temper down and the conversation civilised. "I expect so, everyone else is going."  
  
"All except Snivellus-" James began, but Remus cut him off with a fit of coughs, waving away the dust from the old books infront of the inks.   
  
"You alright, Moony, mate?" Sirius asked, sliding off the table and going over to Remus, who was still coughing hysterically. When Sirius relised Remus was faking it he put a hand on his back and hit him gently. Remus smiled out of the corner of his mouth at Sirius, who reluctantly returned it.  
  
"Well, Evans." James said, trying to change the subject slightly, "You could always go with me." James offered, smiling maturely.  
  
"I would Potter, but you see, I have a life and a lot better things to be doing than watching you hex Snape all night." she said, grabbing her bag she nodded at Remus and left the room.  
  
"She wants me bad." James said, after she exited the room. Everyone, even Remus, burst into laughter, Sirius was almost in tears.  
  
"I'm going to ask Florence Shacklebolt." Sirius said, through his tears of laughter. James stopped laughing and looked at him.  
  
"The Slytherin? Her? It?" he asked, speechless.  
  
"I think so." Sirius replied, watching the quill jig. "She's looking loads better lately."  
  
"Only if she had a few facelifts and a nose job." James said, "Padfoot, have you gone absolutely insane?" he asked, moving his feet so he accidently stepped on the quill, which died dramatically with a squeal of pain.   
  
"Maybe," Sirius replied absently, his eyes not moving from the dead quill beneath James' foot.  
  
James sighed, "Moony, ask Cat, you know you're dying to." Remus blushed and looked down at the floor.  
  
"Don't be foolish, James," he said, coughing more, Sirius raised an eyebrow and started towards the door.   
  
"Wish me luck, fellow Marauders, I'm going to ask darling Florence out." He smiled and walked out the room.  
  
"Who is he kidding? Has Padfoot gone blind? Florence has so many spots she could hire her face out for a mountain range." James said, sitting down on a seat and flinging the yearbook open to Florence's picture. "I mean look at her, she's a Troll in a Goblin's clothing!" Peter laughed, but Remus did not.  
  
"James, she's not all bad, if you gave her Rita's nose and that Weird Sisters eyes, she'd be... fine." Remus almost whispered, "But why does he like her? She's plain evil."  
  
"Never heard you talk about good and evil before Moony, you must dispise her."  
  
"I do not dispise her, James, I'm merely saying she likes to hex people for the fun of it."  
  
"I hear wedding bells; do you, Sirius Black, take Florence Ulgybutt to be your lawful wedded wife?"  
  
"James, I'm being serious. She is worse than Sirius, they are not compatable." Remus said, quickly. James stood up, looking rather angry.  
  
"It's just a girl Moony, don't get angry over it."  
  
"Me? I'm not the one getting-" Remus started, before the door slammed for the third time and James had dissapeared. He looked over at Peter, sighing. "Pass me some more ink, please, Peter," and he began work on fixing Severus Snape's yearbook photo.

* * *

Florence was, as usual, located by the Lake, whispering silent curses and hexes at the Squid.   
  
"Florence?" She jumped and raised her wand at the intruder.   
  
"Black?" Florence asked, brushing her chessnut colour hair over her shoulder and steadying her hold on her oak wand. Sirius sat down beside her, she eyed him cautiously. "What do you want?" she asked, coldly.  
  
"I was going to ask you what you would say if I asked if you would go to the ball with me." He whispered to her.  
  
"And your answer would be 'no,' why would I go with you Black?" she asked, standing up and walking off. Sirius sighed and laid down, watching the clouds move from East to West.  
  
"She wants me bad." He echoed James, throwing a stone into the lake. 


End file.
